


Stay for Me

by SammiPheonex



Series: IT AU's [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: AU, And Ben has 3, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bisexual Male Character, Confusion, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Gay Character, Gen, I Blame Tumblr, Richie Tozier Has ADHD, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Stan has 1 and Bill has the other, Stanley Uris Has OCD, The Author Regrets Nothing, There is 0 smut in this, They have 5 brain cells, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Why Did I Write This?, Why?, because I said so, no one dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SammiPheonex/pseuds/SammiPheonex
Summary: What if Mike wasn't the one to stay in Derry? What if it was Bev or Ben? Richie or Stan?Each chapter will explore each Loser as they watch their friends leave Derry and forget.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: IT AU's [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884673
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Stay for Me

She was the last member of the Losers Club left in Derry. 

Bill left first. His parents moved to New York and brought Bill with them, mostly because he was 15 and couldn’t live in Derry alone. Beverly remembered talking to him on his front porch as his mother packed up the china. 

“Hey Bev,” Bill said, sitting on the porch stairs. Beverly remembered the grey shirt, the blue checkered pyjama pants and the way his hair stuck up in a cowlick. She vividly remembered the sigh he exhaled as he stood up, sounding like someone much older than his 15 years.

“Hey, Bill.” She waved as she walked up the stairs to stand next to him. They both moved to sit atop the railing that wrapped around the porch. Bev had no idea what she was going to say to Bill. She knew she couldn't convince him to stay, seeing as he wanted to stay anyway. “If you leave I’ll beat your ass.” 

“You know I don’t want to leave.”

She felt a small prickle in the corners of her eyes. Beverly didn’t want to cry as Bill left, but she knew she would. 

“Yo, Billiam!” Richie ran up the front path, vaulted over the railing and sat next to Bill. 

Bill turned to Richie, “Hi, Richie.” 

“I’m gonna miss you.” 

“Me too.” 

Bev couldn't stop the tears and snot from pouring out of her face. The tears rolled down her face as she watched the two best friends say goodbye to each other. 

“Bev?” Richie looked towards her as she sobbed.

She wiped the tears off her face, “Sorry, this is just really sad. The Losers Club should never be separated.” 

“Agreed sister,” Richie reached over Bill’s lap to hold her hand. “I know this is gonna be shitty.” 

“And?” 

“And it is shitty. There is nothing good about Bill moving to New York.” 

Bill sighed, “Look, I’ll write and call and visit promise.” He laid his hand on top of Richie’s. 

“Okay.” 

Stan showed up a couple of minutes later. “Hi,” He said as he moved to hug Bill.

“Hey, Stan.” Bill hugged him. When they pulled back, she could see tear tracks down Bill’s face. 

“Are you crying?” Richie asked.

Bill wiped at his eyes, “Yeah, I’m totally crying.” 

Everyone showed up eventually to see Bill off, Eddie cried in Richie’s shoulder, Stan cried in general, and Ben cried right on her. Beverly cried into Ben’s shirt and watched as Bill’s parent’s car drove off.

Stan left next. Only about six months later his father decided to move them to Indiana. Stan ran straight to the clubhouse when he found out. He told them all as soon as he arrived, right before flopping into the hammock with Richie to cuddle in sadness. 

Bev and the rest of the Losers gathered outside the Synagogue to say goodbye to Stan.

“Staniel!” Richie called as Stanley walked out of the Synagogue. “What’s going on?” 

“Everything!” He called as he walked over to them. “People are moving our shit, and I have no idea how I’m ever going to unpack them.” 

Eddie reminded Stan that he didn’t have to unpack them himself. Stan rebutted that his parents wouldn’t be removing their things from the boxes he would. Eddie thought that was dumb. Beverly agreed.

Richie hugged Stan one last time, tears on his cheeks. Ben flopped right on top of their hug and Mike joined after a few awkward seconds. “Are you guys, okay?” Stan asked them.

“No.” Ben’s shoulder muffled Mike’s voice.

Stan squeezed out of the forced hug-pile to ask, “Why exactly are you guys so freaked out?” 

“Bill,” Bev whispered. “Bill never wrote when he left. What if that’s going to happen to you?” 

Stan’s shoulders softened as his face fell. “I won’t be like Bill.” 

(Bill had never written them, he had never called, and he had never visited. Once they had all gathered at Richie’s house to call Bill, they had dialled the number he left and waited as it rang. 

Bill picked up, “Hello?” 

“Hey, Bill!” 

“Billiam!” 

“Bill, what’s up!” 

They all clamoured around the receiver in Mike’s hand, awaiting his answer. “Um, I’m sorry, who exactly are you?” 

Mike hung up. Even if it was a joke, it hurt too badly to continue to talk with someone who pretended he didn’t know them. 

Richie had called Bill again later that day, and the teenager told them all at one of their clubhouse meetings that Bill was confused. He answered the phone but yet did not know who Richie was, and when Richie told Bill the joke wasn’t funny anymore, Bill denied there even being a joke. 

Richie hung up and cried. 

He didn’t tell them that part, Bev just knew.) 

The Uris’ drove off at 3:00 pm. Everyone cried their eyes out.

Ben Hanscome, her boyfriend, was the next person who left Derry. He told her a week before he was to go. 

They were laying on Ben’s couch watching Indiana Jones when he told her. “My mom’s new boyfriend lives in Montana,” He told her with his quiet, perfect voice. 

“Okay?” She turned to face him, so she could see how he felt about his mom’s new boyfriend.

“She wants to move us to Montana to live with him.” 

Bev’s heart broke. 

Stan never called. 

Bill never wrote. 

She didn’t want Ben not to visit. 

“Are you gonna go?” Beverly asked.

Ben’s eyes told her exactly what his mom had decided. His deep brown eyes shone with sadness. “Yeah, we’re leaving next Tuesday.” 

She craned her neck to kiss him square on the mouth. His hand roamed up towards her hair, her hand on his chest. “I’m going to miss you, Ben,” she said once she had pulled away. 

“I’m going to miss you too.” 

Mike, Richie and Eddie joined her in waving off the U-Haul truck with Ms Hanscom driving. Beverly saw Ben’s small face in the side view mirror his eyes looking so fucking sad. 

Eddie’s mom died on September 10th. Eddie was only 17 and thus would have to go live with a relative outside of Derry. Eddie did not have any other relatives. Thus he became the property of the state of Maine.

Richie cried so hard when he heard Eddie was going to have to move away from Derry. He said it was because “I wish I could leave too.” 

Mike told Richie that what he had said was insensitive. Bev didn’t say anything, because she knew he was just upset. 

Bev had stayed late at the police station with Eddie. Richie hadn’t wanted to leave, but he had been working at the antique store and needed the money for college. 

She and Eddie were sitting on the bench outside the station, watching the sunset. 

“Are you scared?” She asked him, noticing the way he rubbed his face in the way he did when he was nervous or scared.

“I mean. I’m going to some creepy orphanage place where some pedo might kill me. Yeah, I’m fucking scared!” His voice seemed energetic and fast as it always was. But she knew something was off.

Beverly sighed, “You know that’s not what I meant.” 

“So then what the fuck did you mean?” 

“Are you afraid you’ll forget?” Her voice quieted as a couple walked by, holding hands and giggling like she and Ben could have been. 

Eddie turned his head towards her, his brown hair bouncing in the light autumn breeze. “I want to forget,” He whispered. 

Bev’s heart couldnt take another blow, not like Bill, Stan, Ben, and now Eddie’s little admission. If Richie or Mike was going to break her heart, she might just beat them over the head with one of her math textbooks. 

“Do you want to forget me? Richie? Mike?” 

“No. I want to forget that summer. Everything else has been awesome, but it feels like we never made it out of that sewer tunnel sometimes. You know?” 

“Yeah, I get it.” 

They took him away the next day. 

Richie cried into her arms as she exhaled smoke from her cigarette. That night they stole some booze from her father’s cabinet and walked down to Hanlon Farms, drunk off their asses. They grabbed Mike out of his room and drank their sorrows away all night. 

Mike left next, right after the start of senior year. Mike was on the football team, Richie did Drama, and Beverly worked on the Yearbook committee. Everything was perfect. 

The three hung out every so often after school. They had abandoned the clubhouse after Ben left. It was just too painful hanging out there without their brave architect. Their most regular hangout spot now was the antique store, Richie worked there, so they had free reign whenever he was on-duty. 

They were sitting in the shop, Richie on the other side of the counter, Bev sitting on the desk next to the register, and Mike leaning against a table. They were talking and just hanging out, doing some regular friend things when the shop phone rang. Richie answered, considering he was the only one of them getting paid for hanging at the store. 

“Hey, I assume you didn’t mean to call the antique store, so I don’t mind if you hang up now.” This had been Richie’s spiel ever since some of the more senile residents mixed the store’s number up with the taxi service’s phone number. 

He paused, listening to the person on the phone, before handing it to Mike, “It’s for you.” 

Mike exhaled as he listened to the person on the phone. Richie looked worried, and Bev had picked up on the vibe he was extruding. “I’ll be right over,” Mike addressed with his slow voice. He put the phone back onto its perch and immediately sunk to the floor.

Bev rushed over, “Mike!” 

Richie sunk next to his friend, wrapping his arms around Mike in a protective hold. “What’s going on?” 

“Nana had a heart attack.”

They closed up the store and brought Mike to the hospital to be with his Nana. Bev walked Richie home after they left, making sure he was home safe before running back to her apartment. 

Mike told them the next day at school that his Grandfather wanted them to move down to Florida. He explained to them that his Grandfather didn’t think they could keep up the farm and work on his Nana’s health. They would be packing that week and leaving before the end of the month, selling the Farm to whoever would buy it. 

A week after the inciting incident, Bev and Mike walked down the dirt driveway of the Farm, ready to pack up some stuff. They started with a snack because their not heathens they need sustenance. Next, they moved into the living room to cover the picture frames with newspapers. 

“How do you feel about this?” Mike asked her. 

Bev looked at him, confused, “what do you mean, how do I feel? You’re the one who’s whole life is changing!” 

“I was kind of expecting this and I’m okay with everything.” Mike wrapped a picture of himself up in a newspaper.

“Really? You were expecting your life to turn upside down?” Bev had stopped working, her hands stilling as she processed the information.

Mike continued working as he spoke, “I had expected something to change, and I expected it to happen sooner rather than later.” 

“Wow.” 

“I knew something was going to go wrong, and I anticipated it” Mike wrapped up another photo, “I’m just hoping you guys are going to be okay without me.” 

“Yeah,” Bev sighed. “You are our only method of impulse control.”

Mike laughed, “You guys are gonna be fine, right?” 

“We’ll be fine, maybe just keep to the less seedy side of Derry without our bodyguard,” Bev laughed. Mike had gotten much more significant since they were 12 and most people knew not to mess with him, so he accompanied Bev and Richie anywhere they wished to go. 

Mike put down the photo frame he was wrapping up and moved to sit next to Bev. “Do you think I’ll forget?”

Bev remembered the question she asked Eddie last year (“Are you afraid you’ll forget?”), “I think you might.” 

He reached over to hug her, “Call me the second I get to Florida?” 

“Of course.”

He remembered and she was ecstatic. 

She called him again three days later, and Mike had forgotten her name. 

Richie joined her in calling their friend almost ten days after Mike had left, hoping he hadn’t entirely forgotten. He had no idea who they were. 

Richie left for college and never came back. 

They were both thinking about colleges that summer. Bev had decided to go to Bangor Community college; it wasn’t her first, second, or fiftieth choice, but her dad would allow nothing less. 

Richie was going to a University in LA for Drama and Acting. Bev was glad he was leaving, making it on his own far away from this town, but she was afraid he would forget, and she would be alone again.

They had talked a lot that summer, but not about college. They talked about literally everything but college, afraid that if they mentioned it, everything would suddenly be real. 

Two weeks before schools started was when Richie called her over. 

She arrived at his house with two packs of cigarettes, anticipating a meaningful conversation. “Hey, Rich,” she exclaimed as he opened the door. “You doing okay?” 

Richie didn’t say anything, just lead her to his room where he immediately plopped down onto his bed facedown. “Nothing is okay.”

“Okay?”

“I’m gonna forget.” 

Bev sighed. He WAS going to forget.

“I don’t want to forget.” Richie sat up, “I don’t want to leave you alone.” 

She sat down next to him, “Maybe you’ll find Eddie out there.” 

Richie smiled, “Don’t make me excited to leave you alone.” 

“I know you don’t want to leave me,” Bev giggled, sitting next to her best friend. “But you have to.”

Richie shoved his head into her neck. “I don’t want to,” He whispered into her skin. 

“Too bad.” She shoved him away, giggling, “you need to go out into the and make your mark. You deserve this opportunity.” 

“So do you!”

“Richie,” She sighed. “Shut the fuck up.” 

“I don’t like this Bev.” 

“Too fucking bad.” 

She shoved him and his bags into the taxi and gave him a quick peck, “I’m going to miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you too,” Richie said, as he closed the door.

She didn’t call, didn’t write. 

Beverly wanted to cut herself off quickly. She didn’t want to hear him ask her name, where exactly he knew her from, or how they were friends? It would all be too much.

She finished college with a degree in cosmetology and went to work at the only hair salon in town. Her father disapproved, but she wasn’t looking for his approval, (not anymore). Beverly bought herself a small house on the edge of Derry, she wanted to be close enough to keep an eye, but far enough away that IT couldnt reach her. 

After a couple of years of quiet living, she had another nightmare. They used to be more common when she was a teenager but had gone away in college and even after she had moved back to Derry. 

That night she saw a couple, husband and wife, she saw them sip tea in front of a fireplace, all snuggled up. Beverly watched in absolute horror as this snake-like thing made from darkness and fear slunk behind the sweet couple. The creature reared its terrifying head, revealing rows of pearly white fangs, and bit the man’s head clean off. 

She watched the woman thrashing in terror, trapped under the blankets. The monster slithered forwards and spoke directly to Beverly, ‘This is all your fault.’ before it unhinged its jaw to swallow the woman whole. 

She woke, panting and sweating, her whole body attempting to ooze out the nightmare. 

Beverly had never forgotten Pennywise, and she never would. The first thing she did after the nightmare was to drive to the library, attempting to squeeze together as much information as possible. 

The librarians looked at her like she was crazy as she took out as many books as possible, even mentioning eldrich beings. They probably thought she was some sort of Lovecraftian buff. 

After a while, she realised that maybe taking out so many things and not returning them until she had scoured the whole thing twice over, was not such a good plan. She immediately signed up to be a volunteer librarian and began to sneak out sketches of the sewers and caverns underneath Derry. She would never forget the cistern or the fight and looked long and hard for anything even resembling the cavern. 

Soon enough, she began to worry. It was nearing 27 years since that final battle in the sewers, and she remembered Ben telling them that IT came back every 27 years. She kept her eye on the newspapers, Derry had never accepted technology and still printed papers that sold remarkably well. Bev talked to the kids at the salon and the library. She even spoke with the women at the shop, remembering Betty Ripsom’s mother. She always asked after their children and had gained a reputation for being so kind towards the town’s kids. 

Eventually, she found out about Adrian Melon, the poor boy who died when some assholes threw him into the Kendaueskeg. Bev asked what certain people thought of them; some people said he got what was coming to him, others were just so sorry this town had failed him. 

She wanted to talk with his boyfriend, Don, but the police wouldn’t let her. 

One night she snuck in to talk with him, really that place should have much better security. 

“Hi,” she whispered, standing, dressed in all black outside his cell.

He jumped, “Who are you?” 

“I just want to know something about your boyfriend,” Bev said, raising her hands to appease him.

Don scowled, “Whatever you want to know you can ask the police.”

“I can’t,” She sighed. “They won’t tell me anything.” 

So Don talked, quietly, of course. He told her about the assholes who killed his boyfriend, but then about the clown, who’s jaw unhinged like a snake’s to rip out Adrien’s heart. Bev couldnt help but silently cry, remembering her vision, of the snake made from darkness swallowing those people whole. She could hear its raspy voice, ‘This is all your fault.’

She made her way out of the police station without being caught. Derry had never moved forward from the past, not using motion censored security cameras or any type of security system other than guards, which were easy to bypass. 

Beverly sat on her sofa, looking at a list of names and phone numbers. She needed to call them, but would they even remember? Probably not.

The phone rang, she didn’t even remember dialling, but she assumed she must have. A voice answered, soft and smooth, “Hello, this is Mike Hanlon.”

“Hi Mike, This is Beverly Marsh.” She held her breath, waiting for a response.

“Who?”

“Beverly Marsh, from Derry?”

His voice caught, “Bev?” 

“Yeah, it’s me.” She stood up and began to pace, “Look, do you remember our promise?” 

“I remember,” He told her, his voice low and soft and exactly as she pictured it.

“You need to come home.”

“I’ll be there.”

She put a small checkmark next to his name and moved on to dialling Edward Kaspbrak’s number.

It rang for a while, before a small voice answered, “Hello?” 

“Eddie?” She couldnt help but forgo introductions; she missed Eddie so much. She missed them all so much.

She heard a couple of car horn honks before he spoke, “Yeah, who is this?” 

“Beverly Marsh.” There was a huge crashing sound from his end, “Eddie? Oh my god. Eddie, are you okay?” 

He told her he was fine, then, “I have to come home, right?” 

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” 

“I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

He hung up.

She checked off his name. Dialling Ben Hanscom she couldnt help but remember the kind sweet, strong boy, she dated at the beginning of high school, before he moved to Montana. 

He answered in his kind, sweet voice, that felt like honey flowing through her ears. “Hello, who is this?” 

“Ben,” She gasped.

“I’m sorry?” He sounded confused, though that makes sense. Ben didn’t know who she was, and she was acting like a creep.

She spoke, “I’m so sorry. It’s Beverly Marsh, from Derry?” She corrected herself, feeling like a complete idiot. 

There was a silence before he spoke again, “What do you need me for, Bev?”

“You need to come home.”

They chatted for a few more seconds, planning a place to meet up, as she did for the others before she set down the phone. 

Hearing Ben’s voice suddenly made it all real. 

They were coming home. 

She wouldn’t be alone anymore. 

She could be happy again. 

Or maybe IT would kill them, and she would be more alone than she had ever been in her life.

But it was best not to dwell on creepy, ominous dreams you only had once or fifty times. (Really, don’t dwell on it.)

Next, she called Bill. She picked up the phone and dialled, hoping he would pick up. If he didn’t pick up, then she would have to leave a message. How would that even sound? ‘Hello, this is your childhood crush, Beverly Marsh. We killed a clown together, except it didn’t work, so you need to come home and help our group of childhood friends kill an eldritch being from before time even existed. Hope to see you there. Bye!’ That doesn’t sound like something she would even respond to if she didn’t know what was going on.

Luckily for her, Bill picked up. “Hello, Bill Denbrough speaking.”

“Hi Bill, it’s Beverly Marsh, from Derry.” If that sentence worked on the other boys, it should work on Bill.

“Sorry?”

“Beverly Marsh? From when we were kids? Remember Bill. You made a promise?” She pleaded.

There was a short silence, “I remember.” His voice was similar to Ben’s, kind, but with a much rougher quality, as if he didn’t talk often. It made her a bit sad to think that their brave leader, Bill, might not have any input on his own life.

“Will you come?”

“Losers should never be separated,” He whispered.

Bev was shocked, “You remember that?” 

“Of course I do.” She could hear the smile through the receiver, “I’ll be there.”

She had chosen the Jade Dragon, a Chinese restaurant in town to be their meetup spot, so she relayed this information to Bill, who promised to be there. His name received a check next to it.

Second, to last, she called Stanley. Beverly knew he wouldn’t want to come back. Her instincts told her to lie, say it was a class reunion or something, but her heart told her to tell the truth. Losers didn’t keep secrets, except when they did. It was a dumb rule, but Richie made it up, and no one wanted to tell him it was silly, except Eddie who reminded him a million times a day.

She dialled the number for Stanley Uris. It rang and rang and rang, and rang.

“Hello, Stanley Uris speaking.”

“This is Beverly Marsh,” she said, not being able to keep the smile off her face at hearing his voice.

“I’m sorry, who?” 

She sighed, “Beverly Marsh, from Derry.”

“IT’s back, isn’t it?”

She couldnt lie, she couldnt lie, she couldnt lie. “Yes.” 

There was a pause. “I can’t, Bev.”

“Yes, you can. Stan, you were incredibly brave when we were kids. I know you can do this now.” And she wasn’t lying. He was brave then, she knew he could be brave now. Well, more courageous than her anyway, she was still scared to go near her old house. 

She heard him draw in a shaky breath, “yeah, okay. Where are we going to meet?”

“The Jade Dragon. I’ll send you the address,” She told him, the smile having dropped off her face long ago, replaced with grim determination. They would all be there, they would, together, defeat that fucking clown, and then they would all go out for tacos, or something (it wasn’t a whole plan, okay).

He hung up, and she put a big checkmark next to his name. 

Now for Richie Tozier. He was a comedian. She had seen his NETFLIX specials and still found them funny. Bev remembered him working on his jokes in the diner across from her and Mike, scarfing down pancakes while asking, ‘so do you think it works? Because I’m not sure if it’s actually un-funny or if I’ve just heard it 30,000,000 times.’ Usually, they were hilarious; sometimes, a joke would fall flat, but Bev would still laugh because he was trying so hard, and he had syrup on his nose.

The phone only rang twice before someone answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey Richie, its Bev.”

“Who?” He sounded so confused, “How did you get my number?” Good question (its a secret).

“Beverly Marsh, from Derry.” She was getting sick of saying that, but at least she knew who she was and where she lived.

She heard a coughing sound, before he answered, “Oh my gosh, Beverly Ann Marsh?” 

“Don’t use my middle name, you asshole,” she laughed. 

“Wow, you sound like your doing fantastic,” he told her. “My life is a big fucking mess.”

She smiled, “you have 2 NETFLIX specials, you’re life is fantabulous. Meanwhile, I’m working at a hair salon called Haircare.”

“That’s the worst name for a hair salon!”

“I know, like, they could at least put some thought into it!” 

They laughed. It was easy to slip back into the carefree teenagers they had once been, a long time ago. There was a soft laugh from his end of the phone before he said, “Not that I’m complaining, but do you have a reason for calling?”

She stopped smiling. Right, this was for the kids, for Adrien Mellon and his boyfriend, Don. This was for the people. Georgie. Betty Ripsom. Everyone who could or had been killed by that clown.

“You need to come home.”

“What?” 

Bev let out a long sigh. She was going to need a shit-load of coffee after this, “your promise?” 

“Right, yeah. I’ll be there tomorrow night?”

“Jade dragon, I’ll text you the address. Don’t be late.”

“I would never.” The false affronted ness shone through the phone like a beacon of light. Beverly had missed him.

The next night she arrived at the Jade Dragon. Everyone there knew her, and so she engaged in a little bit of small talk with one of the ladies she worked alongside. It all felt so unbelievably plain. 

She reserved the back table for their gathering, making sure to tell the waitress that they shouldn’t be bothered for quick little check-ins between eating and the bill. 

Surprisingly Stan was the first to arrive. She saw him walk in the door and ask the host where he would be seated. The young lady leads him back to where the redhead was standing, next to a couple of very lovely fishtanks. “Hi, Stan.” She waved him over

He hugged her, “Hey Bev. How are things?”

“Pretty good,” She replied.

They chatted for a moment before Eddie arrived, second. “I’m allergic to nuts, artichokes and most fish, but not all fish, like 75% of fish. I don’t think I’m allergic to the fish in sushi. What kind of fish is in your sushi?” 

“Eddie!” She ran over and enveloped him in a hug, Stan joining in. “How was your trip?”

“It was okay. I drove up from the city. It was nice scenic wise, but there was a lot of traffic.”

Mike, Richie and Ben all arrived together. “We ended up at the airport at the same time and decided to get a cab together,” Ben explained.

She had assumed that meeting with Ben would be awkward, but it wasn’t, she just sunk into his enormous arms like she had when they were younger. “It’s been too long,” She muttered.

“Agreed,” Ben whispered back.

She moved to hug Richie who, instead of a regular hug, glomped her with all his might, “Bev!!!!!” she could almost hear the excessive punctuation. “I missed you so fucking much. You have no idea!” 

She hugged Mike too. This one was short and quick and exactly like she remembered Mike’s hugs, warm and perfect.

Bill arrived last, dressed in a comfortable jean jacket and jeans. It was a fashion tragedy, and she could see Eddie shaking his head at it. 

Bill hugged her a bit longer than she had expected, but it was a gentle hug nonetheless. 

The food arrived, and they started to talk, laugh and joke around, like the old times. “This is nice,” Eddie whispered to her.

“Yeah,” she replied. “You know, you guys were lucky.”

“What do you mean?” Bill asked. They had heard and were now all paying attention to her.

“You forgot. You never even remembered having friends, having those memories of hanging out or wasting time together. I remembered everything I lost. To be honest, maybe I should have forgotten. Maybe then it wouldn’t have hurt so much to be without you guys, for 27 years,” she told them.

There was silence. “I didn’t even realise I had forgotten,” Stan said. “It was as if one day I woke up without you guys and everything was different, wrong.”

“I know what you’re saying,” Richie piped up. “It was like about a week into college when I realised that a part of me was missing. I thought it was just homesickness and it faded, so I didn’t think about it, but maybe it was you guys.”

Eddie nodded, “I felt it too.”

“Same, it was like a longing or loneliness.” Ben nodded his head as he spoke, hoping they understood. 

“IT is back,” the redhead blurted out. 

Eddie nodded, “I thought so.”

“What?”

Stan piped in, “I kind of realised it on the way here. Or rather, I remembered it on the way here.”

“Me too,” Mike agreed.

“We have to stop Pennywise,” Bev told her friends.

“Obviously,” Richie responded. “But how?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this first little installation of this series. I thought of the concept as I was watching IT chapter 2 for the second time. I wasn't sure if it would make sense so I asked my friend if she wanted to see me write it, she said, 'Whatever.' Which basically means yes so I did it! I really hope you guys enjoyed this and I hope I got the character voices just right!  
> -Sammi


End file.
